


A Two-Woman Play in Three Acts

by zarabithia



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Bomb Girls
Genre: Crossover, F/F, Fluff, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-27
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-14 08:28:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14766071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zarabithia/pseuds/zarabithia
Summary: After the war, Betty McRae moves to New York and meets Angie Martinelli.





	A Two-Woman Play in Three Acts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shopfront](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shopfront/gifts).



**Act I: The Introduction**

The fact is, Angie misses English a lot. Oh, sure, that might seem obvious, as there are plenty of reasons to miss your only real pal when she ups and moves to _California_ of all things.

But despite how much Angie might miss Peggy, she is rather glad that Peggy is not here to see Angie's current mortifying _mess_. 

She's also glad none of her brothers or her father are here, because they would never let her live it down. _"Honestly, were you raised in a palace, princess? You can't even swing a hammer now?"_

Peggy, of course, would be able to swing the hammer and look damn good doing it. 

"Martinelli! That brace isn't going to fix itself!" The stage manager calls, and Angie sighs in his general direction. English would also give him the good punch he deserves - or maybe the shooting that he deserves. 

But she's ready to jump right back in when she feels a hand on her shoulder. 

"Hey." The voice is deep in a way that doesn't look like it should belong to the crop of ridiculously beautiful blond curls. But it's also deep in a way that makes Angie forget all about the pain in her bleeding thumb.

"Hey, yourself," Angie says. She wants to say more, but that pant suit is really something. Katharine Hepburn would have turned as green as the stranger's pants with envy at that pant suit. 

The stranger gives a small huff of a laugh. "You look like you could use a hand. I've already seen someone get their scalp ripped off at work. I don't want to see someone get their hand chopped off, too." 

"Ooh, first conversation and you're as gruesome as you are gorgeous," Angie says. "We are definitely going to have a glorious friendship. I'm Angie." 

The stranger seems taken back by her bluntness, which is not unusual. But she recovers as beautifully as she hovers in concern. "I'm Betty. And Gladys was right; people in New York really don't know subtle." 

Then she squats down next to Angie, and she swings a hammer better than all of Angie's brothers and fathers combined - probably better than English, too. 

After a moment, Angie picks her hammer back up. "Oh, no. I don't like subtle all, Goldilocks," she says cheerfully. 

**Act II: Rising Action**

Betty's head falls back onto the pillow, and Angie gives her a weak smile as she wills her own breathing to slow back down to normal. 

"That was amazing, Goldilocks," Angie murmurs, though her heart is still pounding loudly in her ears. "You were amazing." 

"I had some help," Betty says. "Your friend brings home all the best toys." 

"I should definitely send English a thank you card," Angie agrees. 

It should probably be weird that Peggy still brings home unique ... toys whenever she comes back to New York after being away. But Peggy travels all over the world, and she is also friends with Howard Stark, known ... consort to many beautiful ladies. 

Angie has often wondered what those beautiful ladies could ever see in Howard Stark, but if he has access to these types of toys on a regular basis, suddenly all of those reports that come out of Hollywood make much more sense. The money is an okay motivator, but the kind of climax that still has Angie feeling pleasantly numb and sore in different parts is a much _better_ one. 

"I don't think they make greeting cards for that," Betty says doubtfully. 

Angie sits up and grins at the way that Betty's curls have flattened against her forehead. She reaches up and brushes the strands away from Betty's face and glances over at the box full of surprises that Peggy had brought them back from Paris. 

"Do you think we still have time for another round?" she asks innocently.

Betty laughs and shakes her head against the pillow lazily. "It might be Saturday, but we still have to work." 

"Mm, work. What's that? I seem to have forgotten what that word means." 

"It means that a new play opened up yesterday and a certain actress is earning rave reviews for her supporting role. It also means that a certain stage manager is going to be replaced if she doesn't get up and get dressed." 

"Alright, alright," Angie says reluctantly. "I suppose the show must go one... even when there's much more fun things to do at home." 

"My, my, you New York girls aren't subtle at all, are you?" 

Angie throws back the sheets but tosses a grin over her shoulder at the familiar refrain. "Not at all!" 

**Act III: Happily Ever After**

The weekdays are quieter these days than they had been in the past. With the war heating up overseas, English is rarely ever around, and the packages and post cards are less frequent, too. Some days, Angie and Betty still go out for lunch at one of the shops in the Village. But years of toiling in manual labor have made Betty's bones frail and sore far too soon. 

So most days, they enjoy each other's company until the weekend calls upon them to entertain again. Angie's days as a Broadway star are over and the Tony Awards stand proudly on their mantle. 

But she is still the best supporting actress the stage has ever seen, and her role in those Captain America "biographies" have always been a source of amusement for English.

These days, though, Angie wonders if perhaps the lighthearted fare of the Captain America plays are a bit out of touch with what the rest of the country is feeling. She doesn't think Captain America should be _grim_ by anymeans... but she thinks perhaps the youthful optimism in them is playing to a crowd older than they need to be. The fact that Angie's favorite show is so well-liked by the younger kids these days is probably a good sign of that. 

Betty doesn't like _All in the Family_ ; she claims that she knew someone "just like Archie Bunker once," and it makes it difficult to view the show as a comedy. So on nights that Angie watches the program, Betty takes longer than normal baths, taking her time to allow the Epsom Salts to do their magic. 

Tonight, Betty comes into the living room just as the end credits have finished, and Angie gets up to turn the volume dial down. 

"Hey, Goldilocks," Angie greets. "You get nice and pruney?" 

"Absolutely." 

Betty leans down to kiss Angie, and the gray in Betty's hair is more noticeable than normal when her hair is wet and clinging to her scalp. In a few years, perhaps, Betty's hair will be as gray as Angie's already is. 

"The nephew called in the middle of your bath; rude boy knows I watch my show, but the men in my family always have been pushy." 

Betty sits down beside her on the couch and lays her head down on Angie's lap. "Mm. What did he want?" 

"He's getting ready to open that restaurant on the Lower East Side. Wanted to know if maybe we wanted to come work there." 

Betty gives a laugh that expresses her indignation well. "Are you kidding me?" 

"I told him neither of us were quite ready to retire," Angie assures her. "He says to me 'I don't want you to retire. I want you to come do some real work.' Honestly, none of my brother's kids turned out right." 

"They really didn't," Betty agrees. "But you have Peggy and her family to make up for it." "True enough. Ready for bed, lovely? While you still have enough energy to make it worth our while?" Angie asks. 

Betty laughs but sits up. "You New York girls. Not _at all_ subtle." 

"Not a subtle bone in my body, Goldilocks," Angie says. "And after all this time, would you have me any other way?" 

Betty's reply is to take Angie's hand and tug her towards their room.


End file.
